Massachusetts high school to allow students to play on any team regardless of gender

A Massachusetts high school has introduced a new policy that allows students to play on any sports team, regardless of gender. (Getty Images)

A Boston-area high school is shaking up how its sports teams may look this fall.

Framingham High School — which sits just 20 miles east of downtown Boston — has introduced a new policy that allows students to play on any team, regardless of their gender, according to WCVB.

Students will be allowed to try out for whichever sports team they feel most comfortable. They will also be allowed to choose the locker room they use, and “anyone uncomfortable will be able to [dress and shower] in private.”

“People who sincerely identify are not doing this so they can sneak into a bathroom,” athletic director Paul Spear told WCVB.

Spear said that students who crossover to another team will be required to change their gender on school forms, and still have to try out for and make the team based on skill. He also said that they can’t try out for another team in the same sport — so a male student who fails to make the boys’ basketball team couldn’t then go tryout for the girls’ team, or vice versa.

Framingham is one of many schools across the country that has co-ed sports, including field hockey and football. Under the new policy — which was passed by a vote of 9-0 by the school committee — players on co-ed teams will be able to choose their uniform style.

The is the first of its kind in Massachusetts, and is something that Spear hopes will help students outside of sports, too.

“It’s about people,” Spear told the Framingham Source. “It’s about making people feel included, making people feel good about themselves, giving students the opportunity to excel in whatever their interests are and knowing that the school where they participate and perform has their back. It’s also about educating people, creating an atmosphere that’s safe for everybody and that this kind of support is part of the culture and the way we do things here in Framingham.”